The Chicago Teachers Union’ own federal reporting shows its members are not priority No.1.
Teachers are not the main priority of the Chicago Teachers Union. Its own spending practices prove it.
Just 17.7% of its spending in fiscal year 2025 was on “representational activities,” according to the report it filed in September with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Specifically, CTU reported spending a total of $41.3 million in 2025. Of that, just $7.3 million was on “representational activities,” which the U.S. Department of Labor defines as those activities “associated with preparation for, and participation in, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements and the administration and enforcement of the agreements.”
To put this in perspective, the Better Business Bureau’s “Standards for Charitable Accountability” maintain at least 65% of a nonprofit’s total expenses should be on program activities.
While the Better Business Bureau tracks spending by traditional charities, CTU’s spending on representing teachers – what should be its core focus – falls far short of this mark.
In the meantime, CTU’s political spending reached a record high in 2025.
Chicago educators who want more control over their dues have options:
- Teachers can get liability insurance and legal protection elsewhere, often at a fraction of the price of union membership. Educators can join other associations, such as the Association of American Educators or the Teacher Freedom Alliance. The alliance is donor funded and free to teachers.
- Teachers can opt out of union membership and keep all employer-provided benefits. By opting out of union membership, a teacher stops paying dues to the union yet retains all benefits that are provided in the collective bargaining agreement with the school district.
CTU only provides an annual window of time in which members can opt out and cease paying dues. That window is in August of each year, but teachers interested in opting out can visit LeaveCTU.com for more information and to sign up for a reminder to opt out when August 2026 approaches.
